News of the Week for July 30th, 2017
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Obamacare
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Gun Rights
Student may sue Evergreen State over off-campus gun ban
An Evergreen State College student is prepared to sue the school for denying him a right to carry a licensed firearm on campus or at school-sponsored off-campus events.
DC Circuit Tosses DC’s Concealed Carry Ban
The District of Columbia is famously hostile to guns unless they are in the hands of the security details of political figures and it has had a lot of bad luck.
Hide the Decline
Environment &
“Green Energy”
Trump administration lining up climate change ‘red team’
The Trump administration is in the beginning stages of forming an adversarial “red team” to play devil’s advocate in a plan to debate the facts behind global warming and take on what skeptics call climate alarmism.
Debunking the EPA’s Fake Accounts of the Gold King Mine Disaster
After almost two years, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General released its report on the Gold King Mine disaster that dumped over a million pounds of metals into the Animas River, turning dozens of miles of the river orange.
Obamacare
Government in Healthcare
UK Authorities Ran The Clock Out On Charlie Gard[‘s Life
Having denied Charlie’s parents the right to seek treatment, then wasting time through a protracted legal process, the defendants in the case effectively ran out the clock on Charlie.
What People Pressuring Moms To Abort For Medical Reasons Don’t Tell Them
Real compassion means supporting parents who make the difficult decision to accept their babies as they are, and to love them when they’re born.
The Single-Payer Siren
The United States is facing another crisis in organizing its health care system. It is clear that the private exchanges concocted under the Obama administration are failing at a record rate for the simple reason that they violate all known sound principles of insurance. The planners who put these programs together unwisely thought that universal coverage would overcome the standard insurance problems of adverse selection and moral hazard.
Medicaid Patients With Glaucoma Received Less Testing Than Those With Commercial Health Insurance
Expert: “Medicaid recipients have less access to care, and the quality of care they do get is inferior”
Republican Sen. Steve Daines to make Democrats vote on single payer
Sen. Steve Daines is proposing an amendment to the Republican healthcare bill that would implement a government-run, single-payer insurance system in the U.S.
For Conservatives, Health-Care Reform Is Not Optional
The proximate reason, of course, for the failure of the GOP effort to repeal and replace Obamacare is that moderate Republican senators voted against it: in the most recent instance, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and John McCain. But Republicans’ health-care struggles stem from a solvable, but more fundamental problem: uniting both moderate and conservative Republicans around a single bill.
McCain’s Odd Definition of “Leading the Fight to Stop Obamacare”
The options were clear: vote for “skinny repeal” and get that version of the repeal bill to conference committee with the House of Representatives, where negotiators from the House and Senate could revise the bill further, or vote it down and effectively end the process, as no version of repeal legislation could reach 50 votes. McCain made his choice.
Baby Charlie Gard dies after life support withdrawn
British baby Charlie Gard, who was at the center of a legal battle that captured the world’s attention, died Friday, one week before his first birthday.
Charlie Gard’s Case Delivers Déjà Vu Of Twentieth-Century Eugenics
The brief but meaningful life of Charlie Gard forces us to confront how we view our society’s weakest members.
Quitting vs Losing
“Opting out” =/= “Losing”
Euthanasia in its happy host countries, Netherlands and Canada
Once the idea that killing people is a doctor’s job got accepted, only the complete failure of the civilization that introduced it would change anything. Fortunately, for demographic reasons, that failure is likely.
British Healthcare System To Bar Smokers And Overweight People From Getting Surgery Because The NHS Is Out Of Money
But there is another side of this government-run nightmare that is ongoing. Suffice it to say that Charlie Gard isn’t the only victim of the god-king-emperor healthcare system in the UK.
War & Terror
South China Sea: Vietnam halts drilling after “China threats”
Vietnam has reportedly terminated a gas-drilling expedition in a disputed area of the South China Sea, following strong threats from China.
Transgender Americans Won’t Be Allowed to Serve in Military, Trump Announces
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday morning that the U.S. military will not accept openly transgender individuals, reversing an Obama administration policy directive.
I Was Once Transgender. Why I Think Trump Made the Right Decision for the Military.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump tweeted that he wouldn’t allow transgender individuals to serve in the military
The Navy’s Railgun Is About to Get Faster and More Powerful
But when will the weapon actually go to sea?
A Fair-Weather Fleet Visits Turkey
A contingent of three ships from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) were hosted as special guests in Istanbul last week. The visitors were greeted with considerable fanfare, conjuring images from an era when the city was still referred to as the Sublime Porte, and when the United States sent its own Great White Fleet to circumnavigate the globe. Chinese diplomats gathered for a fete with the 600 visiting sailors, entertained by a traditional band and, apparently, dancers wearing dragon costumes.
National
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher draws a Republican challenger in 48th Congressional District
Following a spate of Democrats announcing runs in the 48th Congressional District, GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher now has a challenger from his own party.
State Directs Schools To “Segregate” Students Uncomfortable With Transgender Bathrooms
In the name of inclusivity, school kids with privacy concerns will be “segregated.”
Virginia: Tied Race For Governor
Trump appears to be a drag on Gillespie
Trump to speak to thousands of Scouts at their W. Va. summit
President Donald Trump will address thousands of Boy Scouts at a national gathering on Monday.
FBI Seized Smashed Hard Drives From Wasserman Schultz IT Aide’s Home
FBI agents seized smashed computer hard drives from the home of Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s information technology (IT) administrator, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation.
Study: Severe antisocial behavior differs for boys, girls
Symptoms of conduct disorder range from lying and truancy to physical violence and weapon use.
Rhode Island college offers “Transracial Bodies” course
The Rhode Island School of Design is offering a course this fall exploring “racial identification as a process that is always transracial.”
Corrupt Mexican Officials Are to Blame for Illegal Human Smuggling Racket
Florida truck driver James Matthew Bradley isn’t the mastermind of the human smuggling ring that led to the grisly deaths of 10 illegal immigrants in his rig, which authorities found at a San Antonio Walmart over the weekend.
Wasserman Schultz’s IT Aide Arrested by FBI on Way to Pakistan After $300K Wire
The top information technology aide to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., was arrested Monday attempting to board a flight to Pakistan after wiring $283,000 from the Congressional Federal Credit Union to that country.
Rep. Steve Scalise Released From Hospital, Begins Rehabilitation
Six weeks after he was shot on an Alexandria baseball field, Rep. Steve Scalise has been discharged from the hospital.
Hunter Commits Suicide After Harassment From Animal Rights Activists
A 27-year-old Spanish woman best known for her blogging on hunting committed suicide recently. She was apparently unable to cope with the massive hate and harassment she received from so-called animal rights activists.
Silicon Valley Censorship
Google’s latest project is an application called Perspective, which, as Wired reports, brings the tech company “a step closer to its goal of helping to foster troll-free discussion online, and filtering out the abusive comments that silence vulnerable voices.” In other words, Google is teaching computers how to censor.
Iraq War Vet And Detroit Businessman Makes Case That He’s The GOP’s Best Shot At Beating Stabenow
Iraq War veteran and Detroit businessman John E. James, who is considering a U.S. Senate bid in Michigan, is confident that he is the Republican Party’s best shot to unseat Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow in 2018.
The Forgotten History of Britain’s White Slaves in America
Slavery in America, typically associated with blacks from Africa, was an enterprise that began with the shipping of more than 300,000 white Britons to the colonies.
Adam Carolla drops politically incorrect truth bomb about family
Testifying before Congress Thursday on the state of free speech on college campuses, comedian and filmmaker Adam Carolla made a profound observation that will doubtlessly please social conservatives.
Civil War on the Left: Another Crash at the Intersection
So what happens when the benighted folks at Planned Parenthood try to put in a good word on behalf of a class of people being oppressed by the Trump Administration, but you don’t get the terminology just right?
Planned Parenthood Targets Toddlers for Talks on Transgenderism, Masturbation
Planned Parenthood thinks your child needs to know about transgenderism and masturbation at the tender age of three.
Conservatives Say Losing Jeff Sessions Would Be “Disastrous”
Conservatives across the country are joining forces to support Attorney General Jeff Sessions following President Donald Trump’s criticism of Sessions’ recusal from the Russia investigation.
Profs: Dems reviving “false narrative” of GOP racism amid defeat
Dr. Carol Swain says accusations that Donald Trump won the Rust Belt–and the presidency–by appealing to racism are just a rehash of the same “myth” that Democrats concocted to explain the defection of southern voters to the GOP.
Prof: “Cadre of militant LBGT students” drove me to resign
Michael Bonesteel says he resigned from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago after a “small cadre of militant LBGT students with an authoritarian agenda” created a “toxic environment” that led to him losing his health insurance.
Engineers baffled by “microaggression” workshop at conference
Attendees at a recent academic conference on advanced manufacturing techniques spent a full hour learning not about materials sciences, but rather about “implicit bias” and “microaggressions.”
Conference teaches K-12 educators how to combat “whiteness in schools”
A recent conference hosted by an Ivy League university focused on integration and inclusion in K-12 education and included workshops on how educators should face white privilege in their classrooms, challenge microaggressions and address “Eurocentric pedagogical approaches.”
Susan Collins Likely Gearing Up for Maine Gubernatorial Candidacy
Susan Collins’s nay vote on the skinny repeal of Obamacare is an early sign that she’s running for Maine governor in 2018. Current governor Paul LePage supported this claim in comments made to Maine press yesterday
New Report Exposes Thousands of Illegal Votes from 2016 Election
A new bombshell study released by the Government Accountability Institute shows why President Donald Trump’s Advisory Commission on Election Integrity has such an important job ahead of it.
Not even sexual assault counselor who talked to “Mattress Girl” thinks she was raped
Tovia Smith’s excuse for calling her “survivor” looks even more pathetic
Economy & Taxes
California farmers bemoan loss of illegal alien workers, robots
So we’re at least all in agreement that the steep decline in illegal alien border crossings from Mexico since Trump took office is a good thing, right? Don’t be silly. There is no argument, debate or policy point put forward by conservatives where you can’t find at least some liberals willing to kvetch over it and illegal immigration is no exception.
State Licensing Laws Are Mostly Awful; Sen. Mike Lee Might Have a Solution
Licensing laws are mostly a state issue, but a 2014 Supreme Court decision gives the federal government a role to play too. Lee is seizing the opportunity.
International
Cuba Has “Occupying Army” in Venezuela, OAS Secretary General Claims
Cuba has an “occupation” army in Venezuela, according to Secretary General of the Organization of American States Luis Almagro.
Venezuela’s Maduro Says to Arrest All Supreme Judges Appointed by Parliament
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro promised to arrest all judges of the Supreme Court that were appointed by the opposition-controlled Parliament.
This is how Venezuela might become the next Cuba
There was an important essay published at The Hill yesterday by Venezuelan-American attorney Antonio Mora which carries some vital information and dire warnings concerning the unfolding crisis in his home country.
Dial 1984 for Wiltshire Police
Wiltshire is a pleasant county in the south-west of England, but as for some members of its police force, well…
Two men are arrested after a girl, 14, was raped twice in SEPARATE attacks on the same night at Birmingham railway station
Two men aged 35 and 27 from the Birmingham area held on suspicion of rape
Venezuela’s Maduro vows era of combat as voters trickle to polls
Streets were deserted on Sunday as a minority of Venezuelans trickled to the polls to elect a constitutional super-body that unpopular leftist President Nicolas vowed would begin a new era of combat in the crisis-stricken nation.
Opinion
Why Demanding Equality In All Things Makes Us Narcissists
The individual, many believe, must be cared for in all things despite the cost to others (a narcissistic notion)—all in the name of equality.
The EU: Authoritarianism Through Complexity
The bloc has become an authoritarian regime insisting that it is the defender of liberal democracy.
At Last, the 1948 Show
As Walter Russell Mead notes in the recurring leitmotif of his blog, ever since the fall of 2008, we’ve been witnessing the slow collapse of the 20th century welfare state (see also: Greece, California, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., etc.) If you’d like to catch a glimpse of that welfare state beginning to become super-sized in England, you can watch online the latter half of “Home Front,” the segment of the remarkable World at War series from Thames Television in the early 1970s.
Minnesota Is Pushing Gender Identity Debate on Kindergartners
It would seem to be common sense that schoolchildren fresh off of learning the alphabet should not have to learn the alphabet soup of growing gender pronouns sprung from the laboratories of college campuses.
Donald Trump, Raging at His Own Cabinet
President Trump, discussing repealing Obamacare, February 28: “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.”
First Church of Intersectionality
I recently attended an academic conference at the University of Notre Dame called “Intersectional Inquiries and Collaborative Action: Gender and Race.”
Of tools and their toolkit
Politically correct opinion has imposed a stifling new orthodoxy on thinking about the phenomenon of gender confusion with astonishing rapidity. Reflecting the new orthodoxy, the Minnesota Department of Education advisory council has just approved a new “toolkit” for “Safe and Supportive Schools for Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students.” The “toolkit” is to be disseminated to all public schools in Minnesota.
How the LGBT Movement Used Fake Science to Push Gay Marriage
In his book “32 Yolks,” Eric Ripert, head chef and owner of Michelin three-starred Le Bernardin in New York City, tells the story of his parents’ divorce when he was 5 years old
6 Ridiculous Arguments In Favor Of Transgender Soldiers
Progressives’ arguments in favor of transgender soldiers are drenched in self-righteousness—but they are also inane and dangerous.
Fat Feminism and the War on Sanity
Kaye Toal (@ohkayewhatever on Twitter) is a “creative producer” at BuzzFeed who has strange hair, lives in Brooklyn and hates Republicans.
Acceptance of polygamy is rising, but why is this a liberal issue?
The latest series of Gallup public opinion polls are out and there’s one obscure items which caught my attention. It’s not as much of a big ticket topic as the usual fare regarding war, healthcare and the economy, but it probably speaks to something deeper and more ancient in our collective psyche. We’re talking about the long rejected (in America at least) taboo involving polygamy.
Rumor mill: Sessions to get a lateral move rather than the boot
As hot Beltway rumors go, this one is extra spicy, but doesn’t appear to have very much meat on the bone. It started with an anonymously sourced story from Politico which claimed “department staffers” were suggesting that Jeff Sessions might be moved over from the Attorney General slot to replace departing General John Kelly at Homeland Security. Given all the scrutiny Sessions has been under, paired with conservative pushback against the idea of his being fired, it’s easy to see how this might look tempting to President Trump… at least in theory.
With One Tweet, Trump Dismisses Anyone Who Ever Helped Him Get Where He Is Today
Well, well. Who might the Tweeter-in-Chief have been talking about?
